USSTRATCOM Kicks Off 2018 Strategic Leadership Fellows Program

Ten U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) civilian employees are participating in the 2018 USSTRATCOM Strategic Leadership Fellows Program, a 13-week graduate level professional development course, held at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). The program’s kickoff event took place at UNO’s Mammel Hall, Jan. 18, 2018.

The National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI), UNO and USSTRATCOM launched the inaugural fellows program in 2014.  Each year, 10 USSTRATCOM civilian employees are hand-selected as USSTRATCOM Strategic Leadership Fellows for the spring academic semester. 

The fellows program is designed to develop high-potential civilian leaders in support of USSTRATCOM organizational transformation, broaden mission awareness and develop leadership skills.

“I don’t think there are very many relationships between a university and a combatant command anywhere that even comes close to looking like the relationship that we have,” said Hank Bounds, University of Nebraska president.

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Charles Richard, deputy commander of USSTRATCOM, provided the keynote speech and joined senior command officials, civilian personnel and academic professionals in recognizing the 2018 fellows during the event.

“I want to congratulate you on your selection, your ambition, initiative and willingness to participate in the program,” Richard said. “You all are at the very tip of the spear, along with the alumni, of the people who are going to put in the hard intellectual work to rethink how we do deterrence and defend this nation.”

Dr. Jeffrey Gold, UNO chancellor, challenged the fellows to become consummate leaders and “aspire others to do great things.”

“Leadership is clearly one of the most important, and to a very large extent understated, values that I think needs to be recognized more broadly,” Gold said. “Leadership is an acquired set of knowledge and skills that are practiced, formed and developed.”

Gerard Reidy, nuclear operations analyst for the USSTRATCOM Nuclear Concepts Division, said he is excited to spend time in an academic environment with fellow teammates and explained some of the things he hopes to accomplish.

“I want to build my network within USSTRATCOM, to learn how to think about challenges in different ways, learn from others and become a more productive member of the command in order to bring some expertise to some challenges we hope to resolve.”

During the program, fellows are charged with scholarly research and writing, and will learn mission-oriented skills from the University of Nebraska faculty, USSTRATCOM mentors, and industry leaders in both classroom and hands-on environments. Additionally, they will earn nine college credit hours.

“I’ve learned the topics of your papers, I’m pretty excited, I think they’re going to directly address some of the challenges we face,” Richard said. “I really look forward to the effort and results of what you are doing.”  

Richard concluded his speech by praising the USSTRATCOM fellows participants and thanking UNO faculty and mentors.

“I am proud of the partnership that this program represents, each of the 40 alumni that have graduated the program and the ten that begin today,” Richard said. “Thank you to all those in this room for supporting our students these next few months, and for the tremendous support you’ve shown to the command and the rest of the community at Offutt [Air Force Base]. We appreciate your partnership.”

The 2017 USSTRATCOM Strategic Leadership Fellows are:

- Mr. James Beall, telecommunications specialist for the Satellite Communications and Spectrum Management Division

- Mr. Shane Ehlin, lead program analyst and exercise planner for the Joint Exercises and Wargaming Division

- Mr. Leslie Harris, joint exercise planner for the Joint Exercises and Wargaming Division

- Mr. Edward Lyle, future operations planner for the Operations Plans Division

- Mr. Tyler Miles, program analyst for the Special Programs Division

- Mr. Fredrick Nyberg space program analyst for the Global Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and Space Division

- Mr. Gerard Reidy, nuclear operations analyst for the Nuclear Concepts Division

- Mrs. Rebecca Vance, network analyst for the Global Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and Space Division

- Mrs. Naviere Walkewicz, senior sustainment analyst for the Logistics Directorate

- Mr. Bren Workman, strategic assessment subject matter expert for the Assessment and After Action Division

USSTRATCOM has global responsibilities assigned through the Unified Command Plan that include strategic deterrence, nuclear operations, space operations, joint electromagnetic spectrum operations, global strike, missile defense, and analysis and targeting.